San Francisco and Boston-based MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPLT) announced a USD 150 million private placement financing to fund two pivotal-stage programs for its lead asset, ML-007C-MA (betovumeline co-formulated with fesoterodine), a selective M1/M4 muscarinic receptor agonist paired with a peripherally acting anticholinergic. The raise arrives weeks after the company reported positive Phase II data in schizophrenia and extends its cash runway through 2028.
MapLight is selling 9,197,887 shares of common stock at USD 11.38 per share, with pre-funded warrants covering an additional 3,983,168 shares at USD 11.3799 each. The pre-funded warrants carry a nominal exercise price of USD 0.0001 and do not expire. The financing was led by new and existing institutional investors. Combined with USD 351.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments on hand as of June 30, 2026, the company said the combined resources are expected to fund operations through 2028. The offering was expected to close August 14, 2026.
Proceeds will primarily support three parallel programs: the ongoing VISTA Phase II study of ML-007C-MA in Alzheimer's disease psychosis (ADP), the ZEPHYR-2 registrational Phase III study in schizophrenia and its associated open-label safety study, and a planned End-of-Phase II meeting with the US FDA to discuss the design of a second Phase III schizophrenia trial intended to support a New Drug Application submission.
ML-007C-MA is an oral, extended-release fixed-dose combination of betovumeline, an investigational M1/M4 muscarinic agonist, and fesoterodine, a peripherally acting anticholinergic designed to mitigate cholinergic side effects by matching the pharmacokinetics of the two components. The mechanism operates outside the dopaminergic pathway, distinguishing it from the dominant class of approved antipsychotics. In the completed ZEPHYR Phase II study, the 210/3 mg twice-daily dose demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score versus placebo at Week 5 in adults with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia, with improvements in cognition also reported. The VISTA study, enrolling patients with hallucinations and delusions associated with ADP, is using the same dose and is expected to report topline data in the second half of 2027.
The current raise follows a capital-intensive build-up that has seen MapLight accumulate over USD 1 billion in aggregate funding. The company closed a USD 372.5 million Series D in July 2025, co-led by Forbion and Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives with participation from Sanofi, T. Rowe Price, Novo Holdings, and 5AM Ventures, which funded the Phase II programs now generating data. That was followed by an IPO on Nasdaq in October 2025 raising approximately USD 296 million in combined gross proceeds. The PIPE pricing at USD 11.38 represents a discount to MapLight's IPO price of USD 17.00.